France players not concerned with ‘last-gasp’ wins

Highlights – TSG 1899 Hoffenheim vs Borussia Dortmund

France's recent knack for rescuing results with last-minute heroics is nothing to be concerned about, according to captain Hugo Lloris.

Wednesday night's thrilling Group A match between France and Albania, which ended in a deserved 2-0 win for the hosts, was the third match out of four which saw them grab a winning goal in the dying minutes.

While some criticism is being levelled at Didier Dechamps's team for not finishing off inferior opponents more comfortably, the players draw positives from these results, saying that it's an illustration of their resolve and quality.

"It is not down to luck," Hugo Lloris told reporters after the game. "We forced destiny by our attitude and our dedication and motivation. That's why we don't give up. We showed a lot of maturity tonight."

These sentiments were echoed by striker Andre-Pierre Gignac.

"We have that in us now. We never give up, we want to win all the time and we give everything for that. We have a winning mentality. It comes from the spirit of the team, from what the manager is teaching us every day," he told reporters.

"We have that in us now. We never give up, we want to win all the time and we give everything for that. We have a winning mentality. It comes from the spirit of the team, from what the manager is teaching us every day."

Arsenal forward, Olivier Giroud, puts this winning attitude down to the amount of players in the Premier League.

"Teams in England never give up. They will always push until the end, believing that a goal could still come," he told reporters. "We did the same tonight [Wednesday].

"We never stop believing that we would win this match and we did," he added.